With WildWings Bird Management

Category: Training

Having undertaken trials of different methods for attaching tiny Pathtrack (www.pathtrack.co.uk) GPS loggers to small seabirds in Seychelles (see blog post of 12 December 2015), and found the most acceptable method for Sooty Terns, Christine and I have conducted a training course for staff of the Island Conservation Society (ICS) in Seychelles. ICS is an … More Training in the use of GPS loggers on small seabirds

I first stepped foot on Aride Island, Seychelles, in March 1972. With John Procter, then the Conservation Advisor to the Seychelles Government, we undertook a 3-day survey of the island, its vegetation and bird and reptile life. The island lived up to its name, being very dry even at the end of the “wet” season … More Amazing Aride Island

The project aimed at eradication Common Mynas from North Island, Seychelles, funded by North Island and overseen by Green Islands Foundation (see blog posts of 21 May, 8 June, 11 August and 7 September) continues. Maxine Little and Jeremy Waters, the current volunteers, began work on 5 August, with Christine and me training them in … More North Island myna eradication update

In November 2013 a whirlwind hit Seychelles. On Denis Island in 2010 I, with the help of volunteers, had made a very promising start to the eradication of Common Mynas to prevent their predation of some of Seychelles’ endemic birds that had been on the verge of extinction. Unfortunately, the project had waned in 2011 … More Arjan de Groene, General manager of Green Islands Foundation 2013-2016

In May 2016 Christine and I visited North Island, Seychelles, to begin another WildWings Bird Mangement-led attempt to eradicate Common Mynas from the island (see blog post of 21 May 2016). The project is being funded by both GEF/UNDP and North Island and managed by Green Islands Foundation, and is undertaken by volunteers that Christine … More News update from North Island, Seychelles

Dyllis Pomponeau and Krystel D’Offay, students at the University of Seychelles, volunteered to spend a month on North Island to participate in the myna eradication project. They were recruited by Arjan de Groene, General Manager of Green Islands Foundation (GIF), the NGO administering the project, of which the practical operation is being led by WildWings … More Seychellois students enjoyed their work on North Island

Since the late 1950s mist nets have been the mainstay of many ornithological studies, allowing large numbers of birds to be caught for ringing and other investigations. Mist nets are made of fine mesh that, under ideal circumstances, is difficult for birds to see. They are efficient but extracting birds requires skill to ensure that … More Mist nets – tools for removing birds from certain buildings